In a defiant statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency
this week, the government of Iran declared that it would resume uranium enrichment
activities but denied that it was pursuing nuclear
weapons. As evidence of its peaceful intentions, Iran noted that the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamanei had issued a fatwa
(an Islamic religious edict) proscribing such weapons.

But although it has been repeatedly referenced by Iranian officials,
there does not seem to be any published text of such a fatwa,
leaving its political significance and even its precise meaning in
doubt.

"The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
has issued the fatwa that the production, stockpiling, and use of
nuclear weapons are forbidden under Islam and that the Islamic
Republic of Iran shall never acquire these weapons," according to
the August 9 statement to the IAEA. See:

But according to Javad Zarif, the Iranian ambassador to the UN, the
decree "prohibit[s] the development and use of nuclear weapons"
(Los Angeles Times, 11/05/04).

Yet a religious prohibition on *development* of nuclear weapons was
not mentioned in this week's statement to the IAEA.

The reported fatwa was said to have been issued by the Ayatollah in
September 2004 "at Friday prayers."

"When the Iranian leader issues such a fatwa, then we have given a
political, religious and ideological guarantee that we are not
pursuing the production of nuclear weapons," said Hasan Rowhani,
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a
February 8, 2005 interview on Iranian TV.

But an Iranian legislative initiative to enact the prohibition on
nuclear weapons into statute last year failed. Thus, instead of
demonstrating and bolstering the credibility of the reported fatwa,
the Iranian government sent sharply mixed signals.

Iranian legislator Hojatoleslam Mohammad Taqi Rahbar said last
November 9 that the bill to ban nuclear weapons was "not
expedient," because Iran is in a region of proliferators.

He added, significantly: "There are no Shari'a [religious law] or
legal restrictions on having such weapons as a deterrent."

The anticipated development of unmanned aerial vehicles and
associated systems over the next twenty-five years is the subject
of a new planning document released by the Pentagon this week.

"As the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) enters its fourth year, the
contributions of unmanned aircraft (UA) in sorties, hours, and
expanded roles continue to increase," the new report states.

"As of September 2004, some twenty types of coalition UA, large and
small, have flown over 100,000 total flight hours in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their once
reconnaissance-only role is now shared with strike, force
protection, and signals collection...."

"UA systems (UAS) continue to expand, encompassing a broad range of
mission capabilities.... UA, and unmanned systems in general, are
changing the conduct of military operations in the GWOT by
providing unrelenting pursuit without offering the terrorist a high
value target or a potential captive."

The term Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been superseded in the
new report by the phrase Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to
encompass ground stations and other supporting infrastructure.

The UAS Roadmap was reported in Inside the Pentagon on August 11.

A copy of "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap 2005-2030," Office of
the Secretary of Defense, August 2005, is available here (213 pages
in a very large 9 MB PDF file):